Syracuse (17-8, 7-5 Atlantic Coast) looks to win its fifth-straight game when it travels to face Boston College (7-17, 0-11) on Sunday at 1 p.m inside Conte Forum. After starting 0-4 in the ACC, the Orange has won 7-of-8 games and vaulted back into the NCAA Tournament conversation.

Here’s everything you need to know about SU’s next opponent.

All-time record: Sunday will mark the 69th meeting between the two programs. Syracuse owns a 64-44 advantage in the series, dating back to when both SU and Boston College were members of the Big East.

Last time they played: It hasn’t been long since Syracuse played Boston College. When the two teams met up on Jan. 13, the Orange strolled to a 62-40 victory in the Carrier Dome. The first win in conference play started SU’s stretch of good play. Syracuse saw four players score in double figures, while the Eagles shot just 6-of-26 from behind the 3-point arc.

“We got the monkey off our back now,” SU point guard Michael Gbinije said after the game. “We just need to play like we did this past game.”

The Boston College report: Boston College is the worst team in the ACC, and it’s not even close. But the Eagles are coming off their best game of the season, when they gave up a late seven-point lead to No. 9 North Carolina in an eventual 68-65 loss. Kenpom.com lists BC as the third-worst power-conference team in the country and is ranked worse overall than Colgate, a program SU hasn’t lost to since the 1960s. The Eagles’ offensive efficiency is 340th out of 351 Division I teams. They also rank as one of the worst free-throw shooting and offensive rebounding teams in the country. BC’s best win this season came against Fordham at Barclays Center in December. It has also lost to the likes of Santa Clara, UC Irvine and Mass-Lowell. It has lost its conference games by an average of 19.7 points, with the UNC loss marking the only time Boston College lost by fewer than 10. BC’s best player is Eli Carter, a graduate transfer that has played at Florida and Rutgers in the past. He averages 16.5 points per game and has taken 145 more shots than any other player. Their second-best scorer, Jerome Robinson, is injured and hasn’t played since Jan. 26.

James McCann | Staff Photographer

 

How Boston College beats Syracuse: Syracuse needs to really let this get away for a major upset to happen. BC would need its big man Dennis Clifford to actually show an ability to finish shots near the rim. Or if Carter finds a way to shoot around the zone, then the Orange might find itself in a battle it didn’t expect. A lot of the Eagles’ offense comes from behind the arc, so if BC gets into a run-and-gun shootout and actually makes shots while Syracuse doesn’t, it will be a close game. That said, this game compares to any other early-season cupcake win that SU schedules in terms of quality of opponent. What makes it tougher is that SU must take care of business on the road.

Stat to know: Going into Sunday, Boston College has allowed conference opponents to shoot 50.3 percent from the field. Before the Orange shot 62 percent against Florida State on Thursday, the Orange hadn’t shot better than 49.2 percent in any game. A game against the Eagles should give SU it’s best chance to let lighting strike twice.

Player to watch: Clifford, the Eagles’ big man, gets rebounds, scores inside and averages 8.5 points and seven boards. If Syracuse can find a way to make him a non-factor, Boston College provides very little threat to the Orange. SU is a team that has shown it can struggle against teams with prominent big men. It handled the Seminoles easily on Thursday night, and a repeat showing against Clifford and the Eagles will propel SU to its eighth win in nine tries.

Published on February 12, 2016 at 6:43 pm